HOLYOKE -- A man stabbed in the back after he and a friend were attacked by two masked robbers on Resnic Boulevard Wednesday got to the hospital without an ambulance and is expected to recover, police said.

Police were investigating the attack in which a staffer at Holyoke Medical Center called police just before 9 a.m. to say a 29-year-old man had been brought in suffering from a lower-back stabbing. The assailants got away with cash, Lt. David Fournier said.

The attack occurred near basketball courts and the search for suspects was hindered by limited descriptions because of the attackers having worn masks, he said.